When composing their sleek, minimalist synth-pop tunes, the New York-based trio Nation of Language cites an unusual inspiration for crafting its pared-down sounds.
“Our bass player, Alex [MacKay], likes to quote Zsa Zsa Gabor when we’re recording,” synth player Aidan Noell said. “She said something to the effect of, ‘Always take off one accessory you’re wearing before you leave your apartment, then you’ll know you’re ready to enter the world.’ We feel the same way with music. We don’t try to adorn it to the maximal effect. It’s better to take something away in order to make the song more pure and genuine.”
Emulating an heiress-actress who reached the height of her fame in the 1950s might not seem like a conventionally winning strategy for a band seeking pop-music success in 2023, but it certainly seems to work for Nation of Language, which will play two sold-out shows at The Independent on Wednesday and Thursday nights.
The band’s latest album, this year’s “Strange Disciple,” is the latest — and perhaps most rewarding — example of the group’s ability to harness simple elements and transform them into imminently danceable and enjoyable synth-pop romps.
Nation of Language started in 2016 after lead singer and chief songwriter Ian Richard Devaney began exploring electronica and pop songs following the dissolution of his prior indie-rock outfit, the Static Jacks.
The band’s first album, “Introduction, Presence,” quickly gained the notice of fans for its irresistible collection of pop tunes, all of which leaned heavily on ’80s-era recording equipment and aesthetics. Tracks such as “Automobile” and “The Wall & I” became immediate live favorites for their propulsive, energetic tempos and catchy hooks.
Its follow-up, “A Way Forward,” followed much of the same template as its predecessor, and thanks to a relentless touring schedule, Nation of Language steadily began playing larger venues in national and international settings.
The band’s new “Strange Disciple,” however, takes a step in a slightly different direction. The songs are more deliberate and subdued, with just a touch of solemnity added into the mix. While there is an undeniable pop appeal to the 10 tracks on “Strange Disciple,” the immediacy and urgency of the prior albums has been toned down. The result is a challenging and ultimately deeper listening experience.
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“I don’t think it was conscious, but there was definitely a little more heaviness and contemplativeness to the songs I was writing,” Devaney said. “I think it worked out though. It helped to kind of shape the record into something that is quite meaningful to me.”
Songs like “Swimming in the Shallow Sea,” and “I Will Never Learn” are amorphous, ambling creations, mostly punctuated by the understated keyboards and synths of Devaney and Noell and the softly thumping persistence of MacKay’s bass. Guitars are rarely heard overtly on the record.
The new album also features the band leaning into more new-wave influences, with cuts such as “Too Much, Enough” and “Surely I Can’t Wait” emphasizing a more halting, herky-jerky approach favored by groups such as Devo and the Talking Heads.
“I was listening to a ton of Talking Heads during the process of writing and just sort of found myself leaning into bass guitar-forward instincts,” Devaney said. “I wanted these sort of plucky, percussive and grooving bass lines. I think that kind of approach can really be heard on the album.”
While Devaney sings about the perils of obsession, self-doubt and self-control throughout the album, “Strange Disciple” also contains the most overtly romantic song in the group’s catalog.
Devaney is married to Noell, and although his songs typically traffic in more esoteric and conceptual lyrics, album opener “Weak in Your Light” is a stirring and direct paean to being in love.
“It’s probably the most concisely autobiographical song I’ve ever written,” said Devaney. “I think a lot of our songs are autobiographical in a sense, but it is often me piecing together different moments of my life, or stitching moments of my life together with moments in my friend’s lives. I usually try to weave a narrative to capture that kind of universal emotion. But for that song, it was strictly for and about Aidan.”
